Safety drives sensor growth

New semiconductor technologies provide more data in a wide range of systems.

Growing competition to make vehicles safer is prompting significant growth in the use of solid-state sensors. Engineers developing new functions such as adaptive forward lighting and lane-departure warning are adding sensors, while those pushing crash detection and other systems forward are looking at ways to share data.

Automakers have used sensors for decades in engines and other areas, but the number of new applications has soared as more and more electronics enter the vehicle.